James K. Polk: A Clear and Unquestionable Destiny

by Thomas M. Leonard

Book Overview

When he was elected President in 1845, James K. Polk was only 49 years old-at that time the youngest president ever to be elected. He faced a conflicted nation on the verge of tremendous territorial expansion.

James K. Polk's four years in office marked the greatest period of territorial acquisition in the history of the country-what New York journalist John O'Sullivan termed as the 'Manifest Destiny' of the United States to expand across the continent...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0842026479
• ISBN13: 9780842026475
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful short biography of James K. Polk

I am currently reading a bio of every President in order. I generally look for a fairly comprehensive one volume account but unfortunately for Polk there are none available (although the forthcoming 400+ page plus bio by Borneman will hopefully change this). I decided I would save my money to wait for Borneman's book and checked out Leonard's short bio (196 pages of text) from the Library. Thankfully, this is a great short bio of James K. Polk. His early life is covered in a suprising amount of detail for the short amount of text devoted to it, and his Presidency is covered quite thoroughly. This is accomplished by Leonard's great writing and superb organization and editing. This book was so satisfactory I am not sure I will even decide to read Borneman's forthcoming biography. Also, do not be swayed by Betty Burke's review, she is clearly reviewing the wrong book.